He took care of himself!

John (not his real name) is 38 years old. He, his wife and two daughters live in Johor. I received a message from John in my Facebook asking for more information about our herbal tea, Ko-Gen, which is used to help people with covid.

Before providing my advice, I requested John to answer some questions so that I can understand what is going on.

• Vaccination:  Yes.
• Received: Pfizer  – 1st dose on 3 July 21,  2nd dose on 20 August 21 and booster dose on 23 January 22.
• Symptoms:
• Fever or chills for the first 2 nights.
• Cough for the first 4 days.
• Headache for the first 2 nights.
• Runny nose the first 5 days.
• Muscle or body aches for the first 2 days.
• When did your problem start?15 March 2022.
•  Home-kit and Rapid Antigen Test in Clinic indicated positive for covid.
• You did not see any doctor at all? If no, why not?

No. This is because there’s no medication for COVID-19 for now.

• What did you do to help yourself with the symptoms?

1.   For the first 2 days, I took paracetamol 650mg.

2.   For my cough I took Ascentia Androchi capsule.

3.   I also took supplements  – Vitamin A, C, B6, B12, D3, E, zinc, magnesium.

4.   I gargled with Gengigel mouth wash twice a day.

My reply to John.

1. From the above, your symptoms are not serious. I believe you can recover without having to take any herbs.
2. Since you are improving, do you want to wait for a few more days and see if you are okay?
3. I think your problem is the cough. Is the cough due to itchy throat? Is it dry cough or cough with phlegm? What colour is the phlegm?

Dry cough.

• How many of you are in the house? Is there in any other people in the house who also get covid?

Only me.

• Do you really need the herbs? I am not sure. I think you may just recover without taking any herbs. Just drink fresh coconut water. It will help you!

Thanks for the information. I took coconut water and shall take more later.

6.     I also have a person from Sarawak — you can read his story (https://cancercaremalaysia.com/2022/03/29/sixty-six-year-old-sarawakian-recovered-from-covid/). He recovered without taking any herbs!

23 March 2022

Hi Professor,

Today is the 8th day of my quarantine. No more symptoms. This morning I went outside for a slow walk about half hour to get some fresh air. Also had 1 coconut water today. But I still isolate myself up to 10 days to play safe.

• Are all those symptoms you had earlier totally gone?

Yes. All of the symptoms are gone for now.

• When you were tested positive for covid — what was your first reaction? Did you panic / afraid?

Yeah I was very afraid and panic, because I was afraid I would infect my wife and daughters too. That’s my main concern actually. (Note: Wife and daughters are not positive for covid).

• Now that you are okay – recovered. What do you think you would do if any of your family member / relative / friend is tested positive?  Do nothing like you? 

I will advise them to take all the supplements, and try your herbal tea.

Chris: I believe in the next two days, if you do the test again, it would be negative. It may take about 10 days for the test to indicate you are negative.

23 March 2022

Hi Professor,

Today is the 9th day of my quarantine. Tested negative today. I shall continue with my supplements.

Comments

1. Vaccination did not prevent you from covid infection.  

This is the reality which all of us need to know. John had received three doses of Pfizer. The booster jab was on 23 January 2022. Barely two months later, 15 March 2022, John got infected with covid.

2. Panadol and cough syrup.

Did he go to seek doctor’s help after being infected? The answer is no! The reason being it is common knowledge that the doctor cannot do much to help him. The 2-year-old plus boy in Johor was prescribed Panadol and cough syrup after seeing the doctor for his covid infection. My friend in Sarawak became his own doctor and he just bought Panadol for his fever and cough syrup for his cough. So, this is the situation today.  While this is the right thing to do today, please know that if you develop  more serious conditions like difficulty breathing or lack of oxygen, it is best that you go to the hospital for help.

3. Do something to help yourself. Don’t panic!

John did not just ignore his problems. He took care of himself. He took paracetamol, vitamins A, C, B12, D3, E, zinc and magnesium. He cleaned his throat by gargling with Gengigel (or salt water if you like). He also took herbal capsule. From the internet I learned that the capsule consists of two herbsAndrographis paniculata and Echinacea purpurea.

Andrographis is known locally as hempedu bumi or akar cerita. In Chinese, it is known as Chuan Xin Lian or Ku Dan Cao. In Indonesia, it is known as sambiloto or sambiroto.

Andrograhis is a common herb that grows wild in the garden. I have some plants growing along the fence of my house. It has a very bitter taste. This herb is used in traditional Malay, Chinese and Indian medicine as a remedy for sore throat, flu, heatiness, high blood pressure and diabetes. It can be taken raw or steeped in drinks. Commercially, it is dried and pounded into powder and blended with other herbs and sold in capsules. (https://www.nst.com.my/news/2015/09/bitter-medicinal).

Echinacea purpurea is also known as Purple coneflower. Itis native to central and eastern United States. Echinacea is commonly used to prevent colds and other respiratory tract infections. Taken orally, it is also used as an antiseptic, antiviral, and immune stimulant. Echinacea is hugely popular in Europe and among the top several herbal products in the United States

So, John did a good job by becoming his own doctor and took this herbal capsule. Is this not the reason why he got well? I believe so. And that was the reason why I did not “push or rush” to get John to take our Ko-Gen herbal tea. He was benefiting from what he was doing.

For those of us living in the developing or poor countries, we can learn how to help ourselves with the herbal plants that are found growing wild around our homes, i.e. if we have that knowledge. Unfortunately, most people don’t believe that herbs can help make them well – they prefer the so called scientifically proven drug that cost a bomb!

Can we learn something from these news cuttings?

The current policy of the Hong Kong SAR government is that all cases are centralised and managed in the public Hospital Authority system, exclusive of private sector or TCM partners.

It is recommended that the Hong Kong SAR government may follow the policy in mainland China to provide TCM as a complementary treatment for in-patients with milder disease as part of the healthcare team responding to COVID-19.

In addition, TCM can be offered to patients in the pre-diagnosis and rehabilitation periods for health promotion.

There is nothing to lose when patients and citizens see that holistic or integrative medicine is provided by the public system. When further evidence of efficacy is established, TCM can be promoted in the other TCM clinics to serve the public.

The TCM practitioners in Hong Kong have important roles in treating patients with suspected COVID-19 in the community. https://www.hkmj.org/abstracts/v26n3/268.htm